Microeconomics For Dummies, 2nd U.S. Edition

INTRODUCTION 1
About This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 4
Where to Go from Here 4

PART 1: GETTING STARTED WITH MICROECONOMICS 5
CHAPTER 1: Discovering Why Microeconomics Is a Big Deal 7
CHAPTER 2: Considering Consumer Choice: Why Economists Find You Fascinating 15
CHAPTER 3: Looking at the Behavior of Firms: What They Are and What They Do 27

PART 2: DOING THE BEST YOU CAN: CONSUMER THEORY 39
CHAPTER 4: Living a Life without Limits 41
CHAPTER 5: Considering the Art of the Possible: The Budget Constraint 51
CHAPTER 6: Achieving the Optimum despite Constraints 63

PART 3: UNCOVERING THE ALCHEMY OF FIRMS' INPUTS AND OUTPUTS 81
CHAPTER 7: Working with Different Costs and Cost Curves 83
CHAPTER 8: Squeezing Out Every Last Drop of Profit 101
CHAPTER 9: Supplying the Demanded Information on Supply and Demand 115
CHAPTER 10: Dreaming of the Consumer's Delight: Perfect Competition 137

PART 4: DELVING INTO MARKETS, MARKET FAILURE, AND WELFARE ECONOMICS 149
CHAPTER 11: Appreciating the Fundamental Theorems of Welfare Economics 151
CHAPTER 12: Exploring the Monopoly Game 165
CHAPTER 13: Stepping into the Real World: Oligopoly and Imperfect Competition 183
CHAPTER 14: Examining Market Failure: Pollution 201
CHAPTER 15: Taking Risks â" Choosing under Uncertainty 215

PART 5: THINKING STRATEGICALLY: LIFE IS JUST A GAME 231
CHAPTER 16: Playing Games with Economic Theory 233
CHAPTER 17: Mixing and Timing: Exploring the Nash
CHAPTER 18: Revealing Information: Auctions and Signaling 265
CHAPTER 19: Trading Places 279

PART 6: THE PART OF TENS 293
CHAPTER 20: Ten Great Microeconomists of the

INDEX 313